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Pembroke staff outline 2025–26 professional development priorities: AP, PLTW, behavior supports and AI guidance
Summary
District staff reviewed major professional development and curriculum plans for 2025–26, including AP summer institutes, Project Lead the Way expansion, new semester courses, behavior‑support workshops, literacy and science pilots, and a teacher‑led review of AI and cell phone classroom practices.
Mary Beth (last name not specified in the transcript), presenting the district’s professional development priorities, told the committee June 3 that dozens of teachers will undertake summer institutes and course development to support curriculum offerings in 2025–26.
She said the district will have teachers attend AP summer institutes for courses including AP Spanish Language and Culture, AP Language, AP Biology and AP Physics, and noted that AP Precalculus recently was approved. “This year, we have 6 or 7 teachers actually doing AP summer institutes,” she said. The district also continues to grow Project Lead the Way (PLTW) offerings; staff described biomed and engineering sequences and a plan for computer integrated manufacturing and principals of engineering courses.
Nut graf: the presentation covered staffing and curriculum investments intended to broaden course access and improve vertical alignment, along with district‑wide supports for behavioral health, grading practice review for grades 7–12 and a teacher‑led group to study artificial intelligence and cell phone use in classrooms.
Other plans include a new high school semester course in rock band and music technology, a middle school medical detectives pathway, a K–5 literacy pilot using Simplify Writing, a potential FOSS science pilot for K–5, and continuation of arts professional development through Art of Education modules. Mary Beth said teacher interest groups will choose participation and that administration will convene a professional development committee with union representatives.
Mary Beth also said that teachers requested more supports for student behavior (de‑escalation strategies for high‑need students and supports for anxiety/executive‑functioning issues). She described planned opening‑day workshops and follow‑up sessions throughout the school year and named Polly Bath as a contracted presenter for community workshops.
Regarding technology and assessment, staff said a teacher group will study grading practices for grades 7–12 (departmental work becoming interdepartmental) and a separate teacher team will examine AI and cell phone policies and classroom strategies; the district reviewed existing policy in light of a legal challenge in Hingham that the meeting attendees referenced.
Ending: Committee members praised the depth of professional development work and asked for periodic updates; administration said it would schedule fall presentations so the committee can monitor progress and budget implications. No formal votes were taken on PD items during the meeting.
